Early this season, Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was asked about the impact of Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones. His answer was succinct.

Published 8:17 pm, Thursday, December 31, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Early this season, Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was asked about the impact of Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones. His answer was succinct.

"When he hits you," Rodriguez said, "you get on the ground."

In a tumultuous season for the Spartans, that's been a welcome constant.

Jones, a junior, comes into Saturday's Valero Alamo Bowl as a first-team All-American after putting ball carriers on the ground 141 times, the third-best total in the country.

Against a potent Texas Tech offense, Michigan State is hoping that Jones' heat-seeking hitting ability will be a deciding factor. Though relatively undersized for the position at 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds, the Ohio native was recently named national linebacker of the year by the College Football Performance Awards.

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"He's a guy who's in there who can change the game dramatically," senior Spartans receiver Blair White said at the team's recent bowl media day. "It's just an honor to play with a guy who can make so many plays, so many tackles in certain situations. Greg is a great player, and he's a better person."

Michigan State (6-6) is thankful for both attributes as it finishes up a topsy-turvy season that has included troubles on and off the field.

After a ballyhooed defensive effort in October against Iowa, the Spartans were bulldozed for more than 1,500 yards total by follow-up Big Ten foes Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State. Though Michigan State has been solid against the run - a staple for the fleet Jones - the pass rush has been erratic at best.

Jones, for his part, will be asked to help by providing quick-snap judgment calls against talented Tech quarterback Taylor Potts. The Red Raiders' headliner, who will be targeted by Jones off the edge, is known for his quick release.

The former standout for the noted football program at Cincinnati Moeller High School has collected double-digit tackles in 15 of his past 19 games, averaging 11.9 stops in that stretch. He has led the Spartans in tackles in 22 of the past 25 games.

"Every time I get out there to play hard and try to make a play, I keep the motor going no matter what," said Jones, who learned that work ethic from his father, a longtime worker in the food and beverage industry, and mother, a triage nurse at a health-care center. "I finish at the whistle. I don't think that can be measured so much."

It's a characteristic valued by his teammates.

"I only have to face him in spring ball and fall camp," quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "Fortunately, when it really matters on game day, I don't have to look across the line and see him. He's a phenomenal player, a true natural football player.

"The game is made for a guy like Greg, who has great speed and great instincts. We always count on him."

That has Jones positioned as a potential pro prospect, and he has admitted he will explore his options after the Alamo Bowl. But before that, he has a job to finish at the Alamodome.

"I just don't want to give up out there," he said. "Because I know my teammates aren't giving up. That's what separates me, I think, because I feel like I play for my teammates all the time. I do my job because they do their job."

Greg Jones

College: Michigan State

Position: Linebacker

Size: 6-foot-1, 228 pounds

Class: Junior

Age: 21

Hometown: Cincinnati

This season: Consensus All-American and CFPA Linebacker Trophy winner after leading Big Ten and finishing third nationally with 141 tackles, the eighth-best total in Spartans' history. ... Selected as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. ... Ranks third in Football Bowl Subdivision in tackles per game (11.8), 22nd in sacks per game (0.75), 43rd in tackles for loss per game (1.13). ... Became first Spartan to post successive 100-tackle seasons since 2003-04. ... Considered school's finest LB since another first-team All-American, Percy Snow, in 1989.

Other: Will explore NFL draft potential after season. ... Played high school football at national powerhouse Cincinnati Moeller. ... Had committed to Minnesota before Gophers coach Glen Mason was terminated. Then chose Michigan State. ... Didn't play football in junior high.